"What's your favorite shade of pinko?"

One of my favorite philanthropy blogs is Albert Ruesga’s White Courtesy Telephone: News, Opinions and Commentary from Inside the Third Sector.  My commitment to this blog may be partially due to the fact that I’ve known Albert for many years (currently he is President & CEO of the Greater New Orleans Community Foundation), but mostly it’s because I appreciate his sense of humor and his insights.  An entry about social justice philanthropy (“what’s your favorite shade of pinko?”) has a short paragraph describing how social justice philanthropy can vary:

“Our work in social justice philanthropy will differ primarily along five axes: (1) our definition of social justice, (2) our goals, (3) our analysis of the problem we choose to address, (4) our choice of strategy and tactics, and (5) the values that animate our work.”

This list of five axes could apply to grantmaking about any issue or from any construct. 

As a grantmaker, you should ask yourself if you have thoroughly thought out:

1. the definition of your focus area
2. a clear articulation of your goals
3. the analysis of the problem you chose to address
4. your choice of strategy and tactics
5. the values that animate your work

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—Julia

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